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This is about two adjacent families in Grimsby where the women are inseparable. One has five children, the other only a daughter. That daughter, Irene, eventually marries one of the neighbouring brothers, Frank. We follow all of them through an eventful war, the two youngest are evacuated, then Irene has a baby and joins them. We lose track of Frank in North Africa, the eldest boy is killed at Dunkirk and a girl gets roped into the French Resistance. It is thrilling stuff told with great pace that truly keeps you glued to your seat. Highly recommended.

Synopsis

Welcome Home by Margaret Dickinson

There are some things which even the closest friendship cannot survive ...Neighbours Edie Kelsey and Lil Horton have been friends for over twenty years, sharing the joys and sorrows of a tough life as the wives of fishermen in Grimsby. So it was no surprise that their children were close and that Edie's son, Frank, and Lil's daughter, Irene, would fall in love and marry at a young age. But the declaration of war in 1939 changed everything. Frank went off to fight, and Irene and baby, Tommy, along with Edie's youngest son are sent to the countryside for safety. With Edie's husband, Archie, fishing the dangerous waters in the North Sea and daughter Beth in London doing 'important war work', Edie's family is torn apart. Friendship sustains Edie and Lil, but tragedy follows and there's also concern that Beth seems to have disappeared. But it is Irene's return, during the VE day celebrations, that sends shock waves through the family and threatens to tear Edie and Lil's friendship apart forever.

Reviews

'The Queen of Saga' Daily Express

'A gripping saga full of heart-rendering drama' Yours

'Her novels bring to life her love of the Lincolnshire landscape' Lincolnshire Echo

About the Author

Born in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, Margaret Dickinson moved to the coast at the age of seven and so began her love for the sea and the Lincolnshire landscape. Her ambition to be a writer began early and she had her first novel published at the age of twenty-five. Married with two grown-up daughters, Margaret Dickinson combines a busy working life with her writing career.